The 3D printing industry has suffered its own unique failure to launch.
This undeniably staggering technology has been widely available for several decades, yet we've failed to apply it in most industries.
The hype around 3D printing boomed around 2012. I remember reading about it for the first time on The Conversation, and many hypothesised it was a soon-to-be ubiquitous must-have in all industries, including medicine, manufacturing and building. Alas today, 3D printing still remains a sort of novelty; spoken about mostly by early adopters and fanatics.
But 3D printing is not just some tech-fan's fever dream. It's a process that allows human innovation to flourish, and at scale. In fact, it could be the answer to the excessive environmental impact that comes from manufacturing – particularly for the fashion industry.
In May 2025, The Wings Independent Fashion Festival took place in Sydney's CBD. One of the showcasing brands, AMISS, made its runway debut. As we dove into the details with the designer backstage, it was curious to see that many of the components of the collection had actually been 3D printed.
"3D printing has become this incredible catalyst for creation. We can go from idea to prototype within an hour, which has revolutionised both our couture and ready to wear processes," said Joshua Gray, who co-founded AMISS with his sister Vanessa.
The traditional process for crafting a garment involves first making the pattern. Cutting pieces from placeholder fabric to get the shape of the garment right. Once the pattern is done, you use these pieces as templates to cut from the real fabric, stitch them together and finish with any embellishments. The pieces is then potentially washed, dried and ironed. It's an essential but often wasteful process that leaves behind fabric off-cuts, scrap patterns, discarded thread and other textile waste.
And what happens to most of this textile waste?
With Australia woefully ill-equipped to recycle fabrics, particularly synthetic fabrics, designers and makers are faced with a choice: find their own costly way to reuse the off-cuts, or send it all to landfill.
But when you 3D print, your garment is made from a digital design, created to the exact dimensions. No off-cuts, no textile waste and little to no landfill created. Beyond the potential to cut waste from fashion production, 3D printing can also reduce the carbon footprint from excessive shipping and transport.
"For ready to wear, we're designing and printing hardware prototypes in house, slashing our sampling timeline from weeks to days. Instead of waiting for manufacturers and going back and forth with revisions, we iterate in real time. It's faster and infinitely more sustainable when you're not shipping samples across the globe multiple times," said Gray.
AMISS's runway show featured a hybrid approach to textile design – pieces that had been stitched and sewn but also pieces that had been printed by a company called Creality. Many of the simpler pieces like the jewellery and bags were designed on CAD and printed by Creality's machines. But also some of the far more complex pieces, like shoes and the corsetry were 3D printed too.
"For couture, we've barely scratched the surface of what's possible," said Gray.
3D printing is also known by the term "additive manufacturing". The process is not nearly as complicated as it might seem. As long as you can create a design in CAD or make a digital 3D model, it can be 3D-printed. Once the design is finalised, the chosen material – whether it be resin, powder, plastic, pliable fabric – is deposited and solidified, built up layer by layer. It means you can create complex pieces that far surpass what you can do via traditional methods.
"This technology supports mass customisation, allowing garments to be tailored to individual body shapes. The rapid prototyping, also reduces both development time and material waste," says Creality marketing manager Larry Li.
But it's about more than just keeping waste out of landfill and reducing transport emissions. The actual lifecycle of the 3D-printed product can also be longer. The printing process can create stronger, sturdier and higher quality pieces compared to what can be made in mass production environments – especially in the fast fashion space. Plus, it means designers and smaller brands can more feasibly offer a made-to-order business model.
"One of the major advantages of 3D printing technology, it's compact and desktop-friendly, making them suitable for studios, ateliers, or even home setups. Designers can do it all on-site," said Li. "It eliminates huge inventories and unsustainable logistics."
But of course, there is one core barrier to the adoption sustainable and time saving technology: cost. In fact, 32 per cent of global professionals said the high cost of implementing sustainable solutions was as a major obstacle. But with 3D printing, the cost structure is more balanced.
"It's especially advantageous for small batches and custom designs. The main upfront cost lies in the investment in a 3D printer and materials, but you avoid the high setup costs of tooling and moulds."
While it may not match the low per-unit cost of large-scale factory production, 3D printing is far less labour-intensive and therefore more efficient. This is especially true for intricate or custom pieces.
"Traditional garments require 120 plus hours of pattern drafting, fitting, and hand-finishing, and we’ve compressed it into a 36-hour cycle," said Li.
It was actually these time-saving measure that that led AMISS to seek out Creality in the first place.
"Traditional moulding would've taken months. We had days," said Gray. "After receiving the machines, I had exactly one week to set everything up, learn CAD, and print all the looks. I developed my own techniques to bring the prints closer to our aesthetic vision. I got experimental with shellac dissolved in alcohol, mixing in different alcohol based inks to create custom dyes."
The time pressure and new technology was almost rebirthing in a way. It provided a spark that ignited a new world of possibilities for sustainable design; but also new avenues for creativity.
"I never expected to lose myself in the process the way I did, painting at 4am, completely absorbed. That feeling of making art just to make it? Definitely chasing that again," he said.
"That's the thing about having total creative control. You push it to the absolute limit.
"Because you can."
